OK, shoot me but I like listening to C&D more than I do Dirty Mind. That's not to say I think Dirty Mind is a bad album (it's actually a tight little album), but Chaos & Disorder just has more "umph" to me.


I know some of you are hiding in the closet who feel the same way



Which album do you prefer, and why?




grammar edit
[Edited 4/3/07 7:16am]

I think Chaos and Disorder is probably a bit better, and has more songs that I like. Dirty Mind was never one of my favourites.

Never been too fond of Dirty Mind and much prefer Prince from his first 3 albums. Definately would rather listen to C&D than DM

Thanks guys

That's very brave of you. When the Dirty Mind fans log on this thread, you're going to get your asses kicked.

I definitely prefer Dirty Mind over Chaos and Disorder.A lot of C&D had 2 grow on me,where I loved DM from 1st listen.Plus I LOVE that cover!

Imago said:

TWICE!!!!!

where shall in put my "Prince is gay" theory in this thread?~

Imago, help me darlin'!
[Edited 4/3/07 9:09am]

3121 said:

I'll gladly bend over and loan them my boot. Both of them! Gotta go with C&D!

I love C&D! I love it when Prince gets raw, gritty, and unsynthesized.

Not that I don't like Dirty Mind, but there are songs off of C&D that I listen to more often.
[Edited 4/3/07 10:16am]

You definitely have my support! I was let down by both albums when I first heard them. The difference with Chaos & Disorder was it eventually grew on me to the point where I love listening to it now. Dirty Mind is the only Prince album of which I'm not particularly fond...no matter how many times I listen to it. In fact, those first four albums make up my least favorite period in his career.

But at least Dirty Mind doesn't have any Jamaican rappers on it.

.....

Chaos and Disorder has to have one of the BEST album covers I've ever seen: Set against a brutalized, chaotic background, a single eye filled with psychotic rage is peeking through a shattered record disc, all of which is mercilessly trampled under foot. Hanging ominously over the image is a fragile, tattered "love sign" reduced to nothing more than a ruptured, bloody mess.

.....
[Edited 4/3/07 11:11am]
[Edited 4/3/07 11:12am]
[Edited 4/15/07 8:39am]

3121 said:

I already mentioned this on the other thread, but...

I've always believed that the disclaimer that's on Chaos & Disorder wasn't saying that the music wasn't worthy of being released, but rather is bringing a comparison to Dirty Mind's "let's release the raw sounding demos as album" legend.

Both albums came at a time when Prince was finding a new identity. But Chaos & Disorder wasn't the start of a lasting musical style, unfortunately.

That said, I like Chaos & Disorder a lot. I think it's a fun album, and it has a great flow to it. I always imagined a rock album would bring Prince back in to the limelight. I was surprised it didn't do better.

Prince was working hard at that time, doing "in between" albums that got very little recognition. He did rock (Chaos), funk (N.P.S.) and acoustic (The Truth).

Have said it more times then I care to mention, but Chaos and Disorder get's my vote!


favorite songs: Zanalee, I will and into the light.

Look at all the votes for Chaos & Disorder. Somewhere on another thread they're mocking us, I just know it!

NDRU said:

OMG, I was thinking the same thing.

Please discuss this with your C&D friends in "Music: Non-Prince".

Imago said:

I was waiting for the serious backlash to occur, and it hasn't yet. Very strange...

Definitely not blasphemy

I dont care a lot about 'status' and sometimes i have the idea that the views on the Dirty Mind album are taken a bit out of proportion, i mean: i think some people mistake the the fact it offers a new, daring Prince sound and controversial lyrics with the quality of the music itselve.

So, here i go:
- The title / opening track of Chaos and disorder is better then the title /
opening track of Dirty Mind. Both are based on direct 'riffing' and a minimal
melody, but the song Chaos and disorder is more energetic, urgent
and 'rocking' then the song Dirty Mind.
- Alltough the rapping and toasting on I rock, before I am is mediocre and
unnecessary, people often seem to ignore / not see the fact that this track
has one of the hardest, most brutal beats ever used by Prince. You can
consider the lyrics as 'clichéd', but at the same time you can consider them
as some of Prince most punk / Fuck You-styled ones. In terms of musicality
and an energetic funk-rock arrangement it is way superior to Uptown from
Dirty Mind.
- Into the light is one of the most underrated Prince ballads. A lot has to do
with its length. It is too short to make a full impression and i consider it
a bad choice of Prince to 'couple' it with 'I will' the way he did.
Nonetheless Into the light offers some brilliant musicianship by the NPG,
offering a kind of delicacy not often to be heard in his music. And Rosies
background vocals are incredibely strong and moving. It pisses all over the
kind of traditional R&B ballad formula used for I gotta broken heart again.

I agree that Dirty Mind overall is a better album, because it is more consistent and it offers 2 real classics in the form of When you were mine and Head (Chaos and Disorders loses its coherence and musical quality when I will comes in), but that doesnt mean its a simple 1 - 0.

Some songs and most of the playing on Chaos and Disorder outshine the material on Dirty Mind, but in the end Chaos and Disorder is far less a 'throwaway record' then some make it out to be.

I like C&D but feel that it's a bit 'clumsy'. As though the final polish wasn't applied. Saying that, as for the question C&P Vs DM, I have 2 favour C&D, simply 4 'I Rocke, There4 I Am'.

riverpoet to say "i rock therefore i am" is better then uptown in any category is apsurd.
did you ever realy listen to uptown.
listen to those funky bass,dirty guitar,intersting lyrics.
uptown is classic.its perfect.
i rock therefor i am is tragic.

riverpoet you probably think jughead is superior to when doves cry

Who here thinks it's better than Sign of The Times!!!

ridiculous comparison. both great CDs. each has its own distinct creative result.

luvsexy4all said:

ok thanks. One vote for dirty mind.





next!

Imago said:

I very much agree. DM has some good tracks but, overall, C&D is a much better album.

Yeah, C&D has some uneven tracks but if you were to knock the 3 weakest off the disc (to equal the 8 tracks on DM) I think you'd find a far superior work.

Let me inject some reality here.

Much as I love Chaos & Disorder, saying it's better than Dirty Mind is kind of like saying Huey Lewis' Sports is better than the Sex Pistols Nevermind the Bullocks. In some ways it's musically superior, more diverse, and more accomplished in terms of performance & arrangements. I don't fault anyone for preferring it.

But there's no comparison as to which album is more important, more influential, and in the end, greater. Dirty Mind was a groundbreaking album in terms of themes and musical style. It helped define the sound of the 80's, and it was the beginning of Prince's most lasting style. Chaos & Disorder was not innovative, not trendsetting, not shocking, not new.

Prince does some nice stuff on Chaos & Disorder, stuff that is musically beyond DM's scope. In some ways it's better. But it's not greater.
[Edited 4/4/07 11:49am]

NDRU said:

Thanks for unsimplifying my previously posted thoughts, I over edit (not to mention unable to be so eloquent).

NDRU said:

Thanks for the eloquent diagnosis.




Another vote for Dirty Mind!



The plot thickens! I sense an ultimate death match comparison thread!

NDRU said:

Yes but you must not confuse content with status. If this were a discussion about which album was more influential and innovative in it's respective day then DM would win hands down, no contest.

However, the OP was a statement on which he preferred listening to more. This is purely about the listener and the content. In that regard, specifically, it has nothing to do with being groundbreaking or trendsetting and those facets don't have any relevance, imo, on pure listener enjoyment any more than the number of sales an album has (unless you're one of those people who only like something because other people think of it as popular or hold it in high regard) reflects the quality within. Nor does status have any direct relation on quality.

Personally, while I still spin 2 or 3 tracks from DM occasionally, I rarely listen to it in bulk these days. Otoh, with C&D I tend to enjoy it all the way through minus maybe a single song. So, on many levels I find C&D to be a better album overall, and I do find greater enjoyment from it. When you remove status and look purely at quality, I think C&D stands above it.